I think K9s are the same as officers, they have a badge that says k9 unit on it, they go on calls, they put their lives on the line for others, plus when a K9 dies they have the same type of funeral that an officer has, plus in my county if you kill, or harm a K9, it carries the same punnishment as hurting or killing an officer. so i guess in my county we treat the K9s as Deputies, and partners.

I think K9s are the same as officers, they have a badge that says k9 unit on it, they go on calls, they put their lives on the line for others, plus when a K9 dies they have the same type of funeral that an officer has, plus in my county if you kill, or harm a K9, it carries the same punnishment as hurting or killing an officer. so i guess in my county we treat the K9s as Deputies, and partners.

K-9s are most definately police officers. they are their handler's partner.....which, to me, suggests police officer. and i am sure that if you ask this to any K-9 handler, they will tell you the same thing. ;o)

I was assigned to a mounted unit back in the late 90's, and my horse was as much an officer as anyone else on the beat. So are dogs. My brother is a K-9 officer and his dog is sometimes better than other two-legged officers out and about. :->

yes k9s and horses are officers. if you kill or harm an animal unit, it should and is some cases does carry the same penalty as a human officer. I myself am a k9 officer and i treat her as if she were a human partner. i would gladly stop any treat to protect her.

K9's are heaven sent....the do the duty they were trained to do, and become a valuable part of the team. they are a friend ,a companion, and a partner to all handlers. they are loved greatly, and highly respected. .. it is always a tradgedy to lose on in the line of duty!

Absolutely they are. In my time as a handler I have seen many K-9's pass in the line of duty. The whole reason that a Handler & K-9 are called a Team is because they each need one another, they each rely on one another and there is nothing that a well trained K-9 wouldn't do for their handler. I have seen quite a few human officers freeze up or turn & run in the face of danger, I have yet to ever see a K-9 flee. There should be no question as to whether a K-9 is an Officer, in the world of K-9 we see what our K-9's are willing to sacrifice everyday so to us it's self explanatory, no questions asked.

You bet they are! We also carry the same charge for injury or death of a K9 as we do for a 2-legged LEO. I have the utmost respect for our K9s and their handlers. A bit of attaboys...one of our K9s did an excellent job recently on a suicidal barricaded subject; after a 9 hour stand-off we sent the K9 in and he pulled the 250 lb man out kicking and screaming between tazer rounds. WTG!

Do k-9's get the same respected treatment that an officer recieves, and if a k-9 is shot then would you call it in as a officer down they are the handlers partners?

If they don't get the same respect they should, they go through extensive training, they work a full work week and they are as devoted to their job as an officer can be. I was working when one of our k9's was shot and he was scooped up and transported code 3 for treatment. He was injured in the line of duty and I can say he sure has my respect!

K-9's are most definatly LEO's, they are certified to do there law enforcement jobs just like other LEO's plus there handlers are cerified right along with them. If they are shot or killed in the line of duty, the person doing the shooting gets treated by the courts the same way as if it was a human officer he shot. K-9's and there partners are a dedicated working team and as stated above,certified as a team, so if the human partner is reassigened, then the dog is decertified until a new partner is assigened to him and they get certified as a team. Oh yea, and in some departments, the dogs even draw a paycheck :)

I have been involved with several incidents where the K-9 has ended a foot pursuit and a couple of times saved an officers life by alerting on a supect hidding during building searches. To me K-9's are golden and we need more of them.